Gas-burner for water-heaters



P. H. HAMILTON.

GAS BURNER FOR WATER HEATERS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 6, I918.

1 ,354: ,295. Patented Sept. 28, 1920.

- 3 SHEET$$HEET 1.

g z A TTORNEYS P. H. HAMILTON, GAS BURNER FOR WATER HEATERS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 6. 1918.

Patented Sept 28, 1920.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

P. H. HAMILTON. GAS BURNER FOR WATER HEATERS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 6,1918.

Patented Sept. 28, 1920.

3 SHEETSSHEET 3.

I Maw) PATENT OFFICE.

31 5. HAMILTON, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.. ASSIGNOR T ESDA MANUFACTURING C(MPANY, OF NE'W YORK. N. Y., A CORPORATION OF DELAVJARE.

GAS-BURNER FOR WATER-HEATERS.

Application filed March 6, 1918. Serial No. 220,715. Y'ouZ/ir/zor/L it mayco'nccrn: vious paragraph and with the axis of the mixing screen substantially parallel to the axis of the comniingling tube.

A more specific object oi the present invention is to provide a burner of the character specified wherein the... burner head s attachable to and detachable from the body ol the burner without use of screws or machined parts.

' still further and equally important obect of: the present invention is the provision oi detachable plates formed in pairs and of graduated sizes whereby the air inlet may be definitely and accurately controlled.

Other and further objects of the present invention will in part be obvious and will in part be pointed out hereinafter in the specification following by reference to the aca c iten ot the l nited States. and a residei; oi the city of New York. in the county State of New York. have invented cernew and useful Improvements in Gasu'ncrs 'lor lihiter-iieaters, of which the i'ollowing is a specification.

This invention relates broadly to gas 51 burners and more particularly to a gas burner adapted for automatically operated water heaters.

The principal object of the present invention, is to provide for the cflicient mixing of ai. and gas and to prevent back burning o; the mixture by providing a cold mixing screen in a relatively large expansion chamber adjacent the burner head.

.inothcr ob ect of the present invention is c it known that 1. PAUL H. HAMILTON,

a l'iurner as specified wherein a hot spreader colnpanying drawings wherein like parts are plate is provided. above the cold screen and designated by like characters throughout adjacent the exit of the mixture from the the several figures thereof. burner head. Figure l is an elevational view of the A still further object of the present inburner showing the body portion in section.

rention is to provide a burner of the charac- Fig. 2 is a detail view showing the burner ter previously set out and further coinprishead with a transverse section through the ing a heated spreader bulb adjacent the hot body portion and a modified form of sc spreader plate whereby the mixture is holder. d ll canned as it approaches th it Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the screen.

openings. Fig. i is a side elev ation of the burner A stili further and important object of head removed from the body portion. the present invention is a burner comprising Fig. 5 is a detail view showing a transa relatively long vertical body portion havverse section through the burner head. ing air and gas inlets at the lower end there- Fig. 6 is an enlarged detail view of one of with a vertical comniingling tube leadside of the burner head.

ing to a mixing screen comprising a cylin- F 7 is a bottom plan view of the burner drical tube having one end flattened and head. i'olded rzpon itself with the said tube ex- Fig. 8 is a bottom perspective view of the tending into a mixing chamber above which burner head with the parts disassembled.

to is provided a burner head having outlet Fig. 9 is a. top perspective view of: the

openings for the mixture.

burner head with the parts disassembled as Another object of this invention is a in Fig. 8.

burner of the type specified wherein the in- Fig. 10 illustrates an arrangement of tcrnal conduit in the body portion is of a burners beneath a portion of the water conformation comprising arelatively large diameter chamber in the base of the burner, an'clongated tapering tube leading upward heater coil Fig. 11 is a bottom perspective view of the base with the air regulator plates positherefrom to a relatively large mixing tion. chamber; the upward length of tlllS system Fig. 12 illustrates sets ot air regulator such as to produce the proper rate of flow plates.

of the combustion mixture as it issues from the burner head or top.

A still further object of the present invention is a burner as specified in the ore.-

Fig. 13 is a section through a portion of the gas ring forming the burner base, and illustrates the gas spud and orifice.-

Various types of burners including mixing screens are old in the art of water heaters and in common use. General types of these burners for water heaters comprise fiat screens clamped between aside of the burner head and the body of the tube; and cylindrical screens connected to the spreader plate or cap. and arranged immediately adpacent the outlet opening for the mixture.

11 burner heads of this type the screen becomes heated when the burner has been used any length of time and combustion begins in the space between the screen and the outlet openings in the burner head, which further.

heats the burner head and-body to such an extent that frequently the screen acts as a hot-tube and flareback occur that carry the flame down to the primary gas inlet where the gas is first admitted to the burner.

-Where this happens the "as burns directly at the emission nipple, an if thereis even a very slight leakage, or if the heater is again immediately used back burning under full gas head takes place. Under the above conditions combustion is incompletev and both poisonous and explosive gases are emitted unburned from the burner head. This is very serious when the burner is in use in an automatic heater that is distant from the operator and is presumed to function without requlrmg -any especial attention. Furthermore the heat of the burner 1s so remote from I the point of desired ap lication as to render the burner substantial y useless. There is ,also a common type of burner having a tip or burner head provided with an overhanging ledge and combustible mixture openings directly under a ledge so that the flames are 1 in contact with the ledge and issue parallel one to another. This construction tends to heat the ledge and thus reduce the heat of the flame jets, and alsothe parallel flame jets tend to lap which reduces the effective action of secondary air (or air around the.

'flame) this further affects the efficiency of the burner. The .ideal burner is one which enables all of the gas heat units to be ap'- Y point of the mixture. The vertical height of the burner is such that the upward flow gives considerable velocity to the gas, due to its low specific gravity, and its velocity through i the outlet openings is greater than the speed or rate of travel of combustion; this further assists in preventing back firing. By the construction specified it will be noted that the gas is in a relatively cool condition until '70; the burne'r'head is reached. There the mixture is warmed and at this time the flow is so rapid that. the flame does-not burn back through the outlet openings. The flame openings are suflicientlybelow the shed to 76 prevent ,flame contact. therewith and these openings are radially disposed so that the flame jets diverge one from another thereby obviating lapping of the flames so that each flame jet is surrounded b free or sec- 80 ondary air (the primary air ing the air mixed with the gas in the burner body to make up the combustible mixture) which insures complete combustion. By this con-- struction a thoroughly uniform mixture is86 burned at the burner head, and the flames may be directed as desired, thereby substantially meeting ideal requirements. Furthermore, this invention contemplates regulating the air inlet ports by segmenets suited to 90 the gas pressure on which the burner is to be used. While the gas pressures are different; in different plants, the pressure on a given point 'ofa plant is sufliciently near'to con--- stant to make permanent mixture adjust- .95. ments not only satisfactory but desirable; The air regulator segments may comprisev stampings of sheet metal with the win of the segments'subtending predetermine angles and beingprovided with anopening be tween the wings, which opening fits the spud. This construction permits a se ent of the proper or required size to be rop (1 over the spudbefore the burner is set on (gl e spud,

.and a small finger piece extending from the side of the burnenenables the segment late to be adjusted, whereby more or lesso the air inlet is'j-opeh d or ,1: osed, as is desired. Also ifdeemed desirgble a plurality of these segmental plates may be used in conjunction,

with one another. In order to prevent any turning movement of the burner and in order to further facilitate maintaining the burner head at all times in the most efiective position relative to the heating, an interlocking construction may be provided between the burner and some stationary part, for example the gas ring, and may comprise a pair of studs on the skirt of the burner and a post extending upwardly from the gas ring.

. Referring now more articularly to the drawings, wherein is i ustrated one' embodiment of the presentin'vention, the body portion 1 comprises an enlarged hollow base 2 .which is provided with a cross-bar 4 that carries a collar 5 adapted to fit over a gas supply spud 6. The enlarged base 2 is provided with air inlet openings 7 which leadv upwardly intoa vertical bore 8 that comprises an injection tube through which v grees of the base of the burner.

flow of air is induced by the jet of gas. Preferably the cross bar 1 subt'ends an angle of thirty-six degrees on each side of the col lar The air inlet opening is preferably controlled by segment plates 9 which may be formed of stampings from sheet metal and which are provided with an opening 10 of the right size to easily slip over the cylindrical portion of the spud (3. The end portions 11 of the segment plates 9 comprise wings 12 which may be formed to subtend and cover various predetermined angular notches l5 and 16, with the height of the notch 15 substantially the same as the thickness of a segment plate. These segment plates are each provided with a finger piece 17 which is adapted to contact with the notch 15 or 16, as the case may be. In the operation of these segment plates a single plate with forty degree wings may be dropped in position over the spud 6 and the collar 5 of the burner set on the spud and over the segment plate, after which the plate may be adjusted if desired in such manner as to close one hundred and fifty-two de- If it is found necessary to close more than this portion, the burner is removed from the spud and an eighty degree plate may be added to the forty degree plate already in position. This combination permits a maximum closing of three hundred-and twelve degrees of the entire base and aminimum of onehundred and sixty degrees. These segment plates are very economical to manufacture, simple to adjust and effective in operation. Furthermore they require substantially no extra labor in the assembly of the device, since they fit over and cooperate with parts which are essential to other functions of the burner. In order to obviate any turning of the burner head in adjusting the segment plates and furthermore to at all times insure a predetermined position of the burner head, a pair of studs 18 are molded on the skirt 14 of the burner base, which studs are adapted to embrace a post 19 extending upwardly from the gas ring 20.

Referring again to the spud, it comprises a threaded portion 21 adapted to be screwed into the gas ring pipe 20 by the hexagonal nut 22 above which extends the cylindrical member 24. The end of this member 24v is tapped and an emission nipple or trade named orifice'25 is threaded therein. This orifice 25 is provided with a very small bore 26 through which the gas escapes. The axis of this bor'e coincident with the axis of the body 1 of the burner so the gas into the form of a cylinder and having the upper end of the cylinder flattened and folded upon itself, with the lower end of the cylinder substantially cyli rical. A mixing screen constructed in this manner presents side walls angularly disposed to the direction of the normal flow of the gas and air, so that an intimate mixing of the gas and air is effected without the impedance of the flow which would occur where the side walls are parallel to the normal flow, as in a cylindrical screen. This mixing screen also is so constructed as to form a safety screen should the gas he accidentally ignited under the burner head. In automatic gas water heaters the gas valve closes to shut off the gas supply when the Water flow is stopped by closing a service valve. When the gas valve closes the flow through the burner body is quickly diminished and apreponderancc of air in the mixture results. This causes the flame to flash back until stopped by the cold safety mixing screen. It will also be noted that the main support for the mixing screen is remote from the burner head and there is not danger of the heat from the burner head transforming this screen into a hot tube.

The body portion of the burner is enlarged around the mixing screen to provide a mixing chamber 29 which forms a reservoir from which the combustible mixture is supplied to the burner head. The upper end of the body portion is preferably provided with outstanding wings 30 which are adjacent to the wings 31 on the shed 32. whereby this cap may be removably joined to the body 1 by means of cotter 'pins 34. The shed 32 is provided with an annular or elliptical skirt 35, in which is a series of openings 36 preferably in the nature of a series of arches separated by teeth or pillars 37. In instantaneous water heaters the incoming watercoils are cold, and the gas combustion takes place in a confined space so that the water produced by the chemical action of combustion is condenscd on the cold coils and drops on the lan'ners. Because of gas impurities this condensed water is more or less acid and the burner must be protected. This protection is provided by a canopy or shed 232, the over-all d ameter of which is greater than the diameter or crosssection diameter of any part of the burner below this shed 32. Preferably the arches 2W d n t xtend upwardly for the entire width of the skirt 235, consccpientl an annular continuous wall is provided adjacent the flat portion of the 38 slope inwardly from the annular walls 39 and may terminate in the protuberance 41 in the center of which is an opening for the I passage of the assembly screw 42'which secures the spreader bulb 38 to the shed 32.

-' of the body.

' this bridge tion on the top of the .The bulb thus has a conoidal form which insures equal distribution of fuel 'toall ofthe jet apertures. ing screen In order to prevent the mix- 28 from being displaced from its seat during shipment or otherwise, a bridge 44 may be attached to the assembly screw 42 and be provided with notches 46 which rest on'the top of the spreader screen 28, thus securely retaining the parts in position when the burner head is in place on the burner body, and the burner is ,being assembled in a heater, or in transit; This bridge 44 is of relative small metal mass so as to minimize as much as possible any heat conduction from the burner head to the mixing screen. Furthermore, the bridge, or holder 44, is positioned in the gas flow and is kept cool by the gas and air. A modification of is shown in Fig. 2, and comprises wire 47 bearing at its middle porscreen 28 with the 48 on the interior a spring ends caught under lugs In Fig. 10 is illustrated'a preferred arrangement of the burners, where these burn- 'ersare to be utilized in connection with au- "tomatic water heaters, arrangement p water coils 50. Where the utilized in this arrangement preferably a and comprises the of the-burners upon a gas supring 49 which is arranged beneath the burners are to be burner opening 51 is provided in the shed 32, over the inner wing 30, ,as shown in Figs.

1, 2 and 4. This burner is so designed as to produce almost perfect combustion where the burner is surrounded by free air, and

therefore it is desirable when a plurality of burners of this type are used that the burn- QIersbe so separated that the flame jets shall 1 not overlap or impinge one against another. I Realizing'that this invention may be carried out in structures difi'ering somewhat from the specific embodimentherewith disclosed I desire that it be understood that this disclosure is representative and illustrative and not to be considered in the limiting sense.

formed hollow to pre-' Having thus described my invention what I claim is: I

1; A burner of the character specified, comprising in combination a vertical body portion having gas and air inlets in the lower end thereof, said body portion being provided with a vertical commingling bore forming the passageway for the-air and gas, a mixing screen covering the upper end of said commingling bore, said mixing. screen comprising a cylinder havingone'end flat tened and closed to provide upwardly and inwardly inclined wa 1s, the upper part of said body portion being enlarged to form a mixing chamber around said mixing screen and out of contact therewith, and a burner head above said mixing screen and also out of contact therewith.

2. A burner of the character specified comprising in combination, a hollow vertical body portion, saidbody portion having a mixing chamber in the upper end there a removable burner head closing said mixing chamber, a mixing screen within said mixing chamber and out of contact therewith, and means carried by the burner head and engaging the screen whereby displace-.

ment. of said screen is prevented when said burner head is in position on. said body portion.

3. In a burner of the character specified a body portion having an upwardly extending bore, said body portion being provided with a bell-shaped base, said bore leading to a mixing chamber in the upper end 0 said body portion and having an oval crosssection larger than said bore, a mixing screen in said chamber, the lower end of said mixing screen being substantially cylindrical and bein inserted in the upper end of said bore, t e top of said screen being flattened and the sides. of said screen being sloping, and an apertured burnerhead above said body portion.

4. A gas burner comprising a, tubular body member having its lower portion formed as an entrance chamber, its upper portion formed as an expansion chamber,

and an intermediate portion formed as an injection tube of less cross-section than saidthe exit openings therein to provide an annular contracting channel, and a screen mounted within the expansion chamber entirely below the spreader bulb and forming a kperforate hood closure for the injection tu e.

formed to provide an injection'tube with 5. A burner including a body portion 18 entrance chamber at the lower end and an expansion chamber at the upper end, a screen terminating Within the expansion chamber and forming a perforate closure for the injection tube, a burner head forming the closure at the upper extremity of the expansion chamber and having an annular skirt portion provided with radially directed exit openings and a conical spreader disposed entirely above the screen and extending across the apertures in position to deflect the combustion mixture from the expansion chamber through the apertures.

PAUL H. HAMILTON. 

